1.
Airbnb plans to file for its more than $30 billion IPO as early as next week despite pandemic headwinds, according to report
Airbnb is planning to go public by the end of the year despite an ongoing rise in daily COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters report. The US-based vacation rental company will make its initial public offering registration public next week, setting it up for a December debut on the stock market, Reuters said Thursday. Airbnb was initially reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring as nearly all travel came to a halt, but has staged a strong comeback as customers preferred to rent out homes
rather than hotel rooms in order to limit contact with people. In April, the company lined up emergency funding from investors so it could make it through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on strong footing. By July, the company said its customers had hit more than one million in daily bookings, hitting pre-pandemic levels not seen since early March. Recent volatility in the stock market hasn't scared away Airbnb like it has other companies that were planning IPOs this year, including Mavenir, Caliber Home Loans, and Amerihome. [ Business Insider ]
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2.
DOJ seeks to block Visa’s $5.3 billion acquisition of start-up Plaid over antitrust concerns
The Department of Justice is looking to block Visa’s planned acquisition of fintech start-up Plaid on grounds that it would limit competition in the payments industry. U.S. attorneys for the DOJ outlined potential for the deal to extend a Visa “monopoly” on debit transactions. For antitrust reasons the $5.3 billion acquisition, which was announced in February, “must be stopped,” according to the complaint. “By acquiring Plaid, Visa would eliminate a nascent competitive threat that would likely result in substantial savings and more innovative online debit services for merchants and consumers,” the Justice Department said in the complaint, which was filed in a Northern California federal court. [ CNBC ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
Special:
Medical scrubs startup Figs gears up for $4B IPO amid legal battle: Sources
Trendy medical scrubs maker Figs appears to be gearing up for an initial public offering even as it fends off allegations that it got its start stealing trade secrets from a rival, The Post has learned. The 8-year-old company, which has upended the medical uniform industry with fashionable scrubs it sells straight to the consumer, has been raising money from investors with promises of a “potential exit” in March 2021 due to “an IPO or direct listing,” according to an investor pitch deck obtained by The Post. [ NY Post ]
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3.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is reportedly looking for $2B before its Hong Kong public offering
4.
BevMo to be acquired by delivery start-up GoPuff in $350-million deal
GoPuff, a delivery start-up backed by SoftBank Vision Fund, has reached a deal to acquire brick-and-mortar liquor retailer BevMo for about $350 million, it said Thursday. The deal will give GoPuff an entry to the California market, where it plans to make its app available early next year. “Through this acquisition, GoPuff will operate coast to coast, solidifying our presence as a leading, national consumer business,” GoPuff co-founder and co-Chief Executive Rafael Ilishayev said in a
statement. A representative for BevMo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The deal would unite a start-up focused on the delivery of everyday items from cleaning products to snacks with a physical retailer. GoPuff already delivers alcohol, according to its website. [ LA Times ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
5.
Vimeo raises $150M, while IAC is ‘contemplating’ a spin-off
Vimeo has raised $150 million in new equity funding, announced in conjunction with the third quarter earnings of its parent company IAC. In a letter to shareholders, IAC CEO Joey Levin said the company has “begun contemplating spinning Vimeo off to our
shareholders.” “Given Vimeo’s success, and investor adulation for the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) category generally, we expect Vimeo’s access to capital inside of IAC will be much more expensive than access to capital outside of IAC, and that capital will be helpful to enable Vimeo to achieve its highest ambitions,” Levin continued, adding, “We just tested Vimeo’s ability to access capital with a small private fundraise to bolster Vimeo’s balance sheet and to repay capital to IAC.” [ Tech Crunch ]
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6.
China’s Hony Capital Raises $130 Million for First Venture Fund
China’s Hony Capital Ltd. earlier this month closed its maiden venture-capital fund, raising $130 million from international investors, as the company continues to broaden its investment focus. The Beijing-based private-equity firm, one of the largest in the country, confirmed the fund’s closing to The Wall Street Journal. Hony Ventures Fund I, which took four months to raise, closed early this month. The fund targets early-stage investments in the consumer, internet and digital enterprise service sectors in China. [ WSJ ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
7.
Impacting America With A $55 Million Black Female-Led Venture Capital Fund
The global need to address access to capital inequities is greater than ever and it lies with putting women and investors of color in the forefront. This is where Kesha Cash’s Impact America Fund II (IAF), a $55 million venture capital fund, the largest amount ever raised by a Black solo female fund manager, is poised to disrupt the traditionally vanilla-laced investor sector. When the venture capitalists calling the shots start to diversify, so will the capital commitments to founders of color who are shifting the business paradigm and building economically solvent companies. [ Forbes ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
8.
Health-tech startup MedAdvisor is looking to raise $45 million as it buys a US medication venture for $49 million
Shares in ASX-listed MedAdvisor have been placed in a trading halt today with the health-tech venture announcing plans to acquire US-based medication adherence company Adheris for US$34.5 million (AU$49m), while also raising AU$45 million to fund the acquisition. The company’s seeking a minimum of AU$35m in funds through an institutional placement at $0.45 per share, a 12.5% premium to Friday’s closing price of $0.40 cents and a 10% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price (VWAP). The raise also includes an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer and convertible note of US$5m (AU$7.1m) with Syneos Health. The deal includes a further US$7m in two-part earn out components based on revenues in: Q3/Q4 CY20 and CY21. [ Startup
Daily ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
9.
Udacity gets $75 million in debt funding, the online training platform's revenue has jumped 260% in the first half of the year
10.
Venture Capital Is A Blue State (And County) Business
A lot has been made about the cultural, geographic, and demographic differences of Red and Blue states. Another stat to add to the pile is this: So-called Blue or Democrat-leaning states take in the overwhelming majority of venture capital funding. Among Red, or Republican-leaning states, the only two that stand out as major startup investment hubs are Texas and Utah. Those are the findings from an overview of venture-stage funding based on Crunchbase data for the past year. Overall, states in the Blue column for the 2020 election (plus Washington DC) pulled in $70.1 billion over the past year for the funding stages we tracked. Red states, meanwhile, drew just $5.68 billion. [ Crunchbase ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
11.
Ayar Labs raises $35 million to develop light-based chip interconnects
Ayar Labs is leveraging novel silicon processing techniques to develop high-speed, high-density, low-power optical-based interconnect “chiplets” to replace traditional I/O. Today, the company raised $35 million for product development and commercialization of its in-package optical interconnect solution. Making transistors — the tiny on-off switches inside silicon chips — smaller and smaller has enabled the computer revolution and the $1 trillion-plus electronics industry. But the copper interconnections between
transistors on electronics are a major impediment to progress. The resistive-capacitive delay (RC delay) within interconnects has prevented transistors from becoming faster as they shrink, as is normally the case. Moreover, copper remains unreliable at small dimensions, even with insulators made of shielding materials. [ Venture Beat ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
12.
Ushur Closes $25M in Series B Funding
Ushur, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based AI complete solution for intelligent automation in the insurance industry, raised $25M in Series B funding. The round, which brought total funding to $36m, was led by Third Point Ventures, with participation from existing investor 8VC. The company will use the proceeds to accelerate its sales and marketing efforts. Led by CEO and co-founder Simha Sadasiva, Ushur provides a cloud-native automation platform for established insurers like Aetna, Irish Life, Tower Insurance and Unum to improve customer
communications with “digital-first” experiences, trading phone calls and physical mailers for convenient web, mobile and email engagement. The platform features a no-code visual builder, tools for data extraction and integrations with back-end core systems. [ finsmes ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
13.
MYOB and Malcolm Turnbull back $22 million series C in a workplace software startup
MYOB has led a $22 million Series C round into workplace software startup Flare, with the accounting platform also announcing a new partnership with the five-year-old venture. Existing investors Point72 Ventures, Acorn Capital and David Fite joined the round with Malcolm Turnbull signing on as a new investor. Turnbull and Fite will become special advisors to the business. “Flare’s unique business model provides real value to Australian firms and their employees in equal measure, at a time when the future of work looks very different,” Turnbull said. Previous investors in the company include Bridge lane, Tank Stream and Reinventure. MYOB General Manager Financial Services, Andrew Baines said the partnership was an evolution of MYOB’s
product suite for customers seeking to onboard and engage their workforce during a period of significant disruption. [ Startup Daily ] Checkout 15K+ Venture Capital Data on our platform.
14.
Vivid Money raises $17.6 million for its European challenger bank
German fintech startup Vivid Money has raised a $17.6 million Series A funding round (€15 million). Ribbit Capital is leading the investment. Today’s funding round gives Vivid Money a valuation of $117 million (€100
million). Vivid Money is quite a young startup, as the company started accepting customers just a few months ago. Built on top of Solarisbank for the banking infrastructure, Vivid Money is a challenger bank with a few nifty features. When you sign up, you get a current account and a metal debit card. You can control the card from the app — for instance, you can lock and
unlock it. It also works in Apple Pay and Google Pay. Users can also create sub-accounts called pockets. Each pocket has its own IBAN. You can invite other users to specific pockets and you can associate your card with one pocket or another. Alternatively, you can order additional physical cards for €20 per card, or get a virtual card for €1. [ Tech Crunch ]
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15.
Mental wellness startup Koa Health spins out from Alpha with €14 million in funding
Koa Health, a digital mental healthcare provider based in the Netherlands, has announced its successful spin out from Alpha, Telefónica’s startup factory, along with a €14.1 million in new funding. The Series A investment comes from Ancora Finance Group and Wellington Partners and has an ultimate target of up to €30 million. Previously known as Alpha Health, Koa Health is now a new, independent company following four years of research and trials to secure robust data and build out a product roadmap. That debut product
is Koa Foundations, a mental wellbeing app helping designed for the workplace, helping organisations support their teams. It offers a library of evidence-based activities for tackling stress, sleeping better, aiding relaxation and positive thinking and boosting self confidence. [ tech.eu ]
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